CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Wednesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, amid easing trade war tensions after top U.S. and Chinese officials agreed upon a 'framework' to move forward on trade, following two days of high-level talks in London. The framework will first need to be approved by leaders in Washington and Beijing. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the discussions were productive while commerce secretary Howard Lutnick expressed optimism that concerns surrounding rare earth minerals and magnets 'will be resolved' eventually, as the deal is implemented.
China international trade representative Li Chenggang said: 'Our communication has been very professional, rational, in-depth and candid.' Li expressed hope that progress made in London would help to boost trust on both sides.
Meanwhile, the World Bank has slashed global economic growth forecasts, citing heightened trade tensions and policy uncertainty.
Australian shares are trading modestly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 8,600 level to fresh all-time highs, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in iron ore miners, energy and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in gold miners and technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 29.10 points or 0.34 percent to 8,616.30, after touching a fresh all-time high of 8,639.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 28.80 points or 0.33 percent to 8,841.50. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 2 percent, Rio Tinto is edging up 0.2 percent, Fortescue metals is adding 2.5 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing almost 3 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy is gaining almost 2 percent, while Santos and Origin Energy are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each. Beach energy is sliding almost 6 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 1 percent, Xero is down almost 1 percent and Appen is declining more than 2 percent. WiseTech Global is flat.
Zip is jumping more than 16 percent after the buy now pay later company upgraded its full-year earnings guidance amid continued strong performance, particularly in the US business.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each. Westpac and ANZ Banking are flat.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is edging down 0.1 percent, Resolute Mining is declining almost 2 percent and Newmont is down almost 1 percent, while Gold Road Resources is gaining almost 1 percent. Northern Star Resources is flat.
In other news, shares in Johns Lyng Group skyrocketing almost 22 percent after the integrated building services group confirmed media reports of a non-binding indicative offer from Pacific Equity Partners.
Shares in Perseus Mining are slipping almost 6 percent after the gold miner released weak five-year operating outlook.
Shares in Pilbara Minerals are surging almost 5 percent after the lithium miner revealed a significant upgrade to the mineral resource at its 100%-owned Pilgangoora Operation in Western Australia.
Shares in Fletcher Building are rising more than 8 percent after the New Zealand-based building materials group revealing that it had received 'ongoing inbound inquiries' from parties interested in its businesses, including the construction division.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.652 on Wednesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading notably higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous three sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving up to near the 38,400 level, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks. Financial stocks are a weak spot.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,385.37, up 173.86 points or 0.45 percent, after touching a high of 38,529.64 earlier. Japanese stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.5 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 1 percent, while Toyota is edging down 0.2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 1 percent, Tokyo Electron is adding more than 2 percent and Screen Holdings is advancing almost 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.3 percent.
Among the major exporters, Canon is edging up 0.5 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is losing almost 2 percent and Sony is down more than 1 percent. Panasonic is flat.
Among other major gainers, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings is gaining more than 4 percent, while Shiseido, Sumco and Sumitomo Pharma are advancing almost 4 percent each. Otsuka Holdings, Nissan Motor and Minebea Mitsumi are adding more than 3 percent each.
Conversely, Hino Motors is plummeting more than 13 percent, while IHI and Nintendo are losing more than 4 percent each. Kawasaki Heavy Industries is down more than 3 percent, while Shimizu, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Tokio Marine are declining almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, Producer prices in Japan were down 0.2 percent on month in May, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday. That was shy of expectations for a flat reading following the upwardly revised 0.3 percent increase in April (originally 0.2 percent).
On a yearly basis, producer prices rose 3.2 percent - again shy of forecasts for 3.5 percent and down from the upwardly revised 4.1 percent increase in the previous month (originally 4.0 percent).
Export prices were down 0.9 percent on month and 1.4 percent on year in May, the bank said, while import prices sank 1.2 percent on month and 4.7 percent on year.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 144 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.2 and 0.6 percent each. Singapore and Indonesia are down 0.4 and 0.7 percent, respectively.
On the Wall Street, stocks moved modestly to the upside on Tuesday as traders await the outcome of the ongoing trade talks between China and the U.S. in London. Trade negotiations between the world's two largest economies commenced on Monday - and while U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters the talks are 'going well,' there has been no breakthrough as of yet.
The Dow climbed 105.11 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 42,866.87, while the NASDAQ gained 123.75 points or 0.63 percent to close at 19,714.99 and the S&P 500 added 32.93 points or 0.55 percent to end at 6,038.81.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.44 percent, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed down 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices were down on Tuesday amidst uncertainty over trade talks between China and the United States continued, although the outcome remains uncertain. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery closed down by $0.31 to settle at $64.98 per barrel.
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